Day two of racing at the 2013 Trans Provence saw a favourable change in the weather but also the not-so-glorious problem of course-cutting. Trans Provence organisation accused and penalised six riders of deliberately cheating to gain a time advantage and therefore gave them all time penalties.
The riders at the top of the results sheet weren’t included in those named for cutting corners and after two days of racing Jerome Clementz continues to prove his ability for reading terrain as he leads the charge, with 2012 winner Nicolas Lau in second and Fabien Barel in third. It’s worth noting that Enduro World Series organiser Chris Ball isn’t far behind the pro riders who race in his series – he’s sitting in eighth!
For full classification after day two, click here.
Here is the word from the organisation:
2013 Mavic Trans Provence day two: Dignes les Bains to Villars-Collmars
Following this morning’s racing at Mavic Trans-Provence 2013 six riders received penalties for deliberately cutting corners for time advantage on Special Stage 5 (the first Special Stage of Day 2).
The riders were: Afonso Ferreira, Alex Stock, François Dola, Mikko Kupiainen, Todd Seplavy and Vadim Savelyev.
We are aware that there have been some discussions on various social networks and websites as to the fairness or validity of the penalties.
Ash Smith (Mavic Trans-Provence 2013 organiser and race director) felt that a statement was needed to explain and clarify today’s events:
“Today during Special Stage1 at Mavic Trans-Provence 2013, six riders were each given a 35 second penalty for cutting corners. The incidents were seen by myself personally. They were not reported by another competitor or any second party.
“We cannot be at every corner to check that riders are obeying the rules. I believe that the ‘random testing’ approach that we take – monitoring parts of Special Stages where there’s a very clear choice to be made between riding the line or cutting corners – combined with the knowledge that riders will and have been caught and duly penalised will encourage riders to conduct themselves within the spirit of the event (namely, with a sense of sportsmanship, not to mention our joint obligation to protect the trails so that others may enjoy them for generations to come.)”
“I hope this clarifies the situation. We’re pleased there’s so much interest in the event and rules, so thanks for all of the comments across the ‘net. Enduro as a sport is in now in the limelight. It’s my belief that by having simple rules now about expected behaviour will only help the sport grow.”
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